AstraZeneca shares tumble after reports China unit is linked to insurance fraud

Pharmaceutical's weight loss pill described as underwhelming', also piling pressure on share price

AstraZeneca shares tumbled on Tuesday wiping 14bn off the value of Britain's biggest drug maker, after a report that dozens of senior executives at its China unit could be implicated in an insurance fraud case in the country's pharmaceutical sector.

Also putting pressure on the share price, early data on AstraZeneca's experimental weight loss pill published on Monday was described as somewhat underwhelming" by analysts at Deutsche Bank, who reiterated their sell" rating on the stock.